Warsteiner Premium Dunkel | Warsteiner Brauerei

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This is and has been my go to beer of choice for years. Being from Texas, where Shiner is the king, Warsteiner Dunkel is a step above. I first tried it in Germany, and have been in love since 2003. I now keep a keg on tap at all times.

So this is what Munich malts taste like? From other reviews this sounds like a kinder, gentler Munich dunkel, but I enjoyed it. It has the bread crust taste that come from the Munich malts, and a bit of cocoa, light noble hops, and some roasted character, but nothing like a porter. I lean towards the malt and away from the heavily hopped, so this is one I will buy again.

Warsteiner Premium Dunkel pours a dark brown color; kind of old and woody looking with the smallest possible red tint you could imaging. It exhibits good clarity and is topped off with a voluptuous beige can that grows huge and sticks generously to the inside of the glass. It leaves behind sheets of lacing at it slowly descends towards the top of the brew.

Huge Munich malt aroma; large boasts of heavily-toasted bread and a decent helping of slightly metallic-tinted caramel. Very doughy and bready with a little bit of cocoa powder hidden in the background, combining to form a slight cookie dough aroma. Fresh, crisp lager yeast crowds the end and smells great; very solid aroma overall, and it's much more powerful and robust than you might expect for a lighter beer.

Sadly, the taste is slightly less intriguing; it's kind of watered down a bit underwhelming considering that fact that my nostrils are still more than pleased. The water is very "mineral" tasting and rough with a thick and heavy yeast taste from start to finish. The yeast is pretty nice, but the chalky mineral essence, I could do without. Middle-to-end, it's pretty grainy with a much, much lighter caramel presence than the aroma would signify.

Toasted breads are still evident, but again, much more subdued and muted. Diacetyl is unfortunately more noticeable than I believe it should be, as I'm picking up quite a large buttery popcorn kernel flavor, especially in the aftertaste. Carbonation is pretty spot on, and I really have no complains about the thin-medium mouth feel. Crisp, somewhat dry finish with a nice snap.

Well, the aroma was awesome. And that's pretty much all I have to say about that. Quite a let down on the palate, with some strange off-flavors that hindered an already unimpressive flavor profile - minerals, chalk, heavy butter. Without those, this beer would have been okay. As is, it's floating right around "medicore". Not so bad I wouldn't drink it again, but I'd definitely never order one again on my own. Unless it was a candle.

This beer has a dull dark color with a strong coffee smell. It tastes smooth with dark coffee aroma, it does't taste too bitter with a slight sweetness, which is what I like the best. There is no or low hop in it, which makes it no bad.